Starway To Heaven face parte din magnificul Led Zeppelin IV, probabil cel mai bun disc al formaţiei. Melodia insesi este vazuta de catre multi dintre criticii si cunoscătorii din domeniul R’N'R ca fiind cea mai buna piesa muzicala a genului. Ceea ce frapează la Starway To Heaven (ca şi la întregul album de altfel) este concepţia de la baza acestuia. Concepţia aparţinînd lui Jimmy Page, chitaristul solo al grupului care şi-a pus asupra melodiei amprenta sa puternica: impulsivitate si reflexie, intelectualism şi sălbăticie, pasiune pentru r’n'r dar si pentru limbajele ezoterice.
Starway To Heaven este reprezentativa pentru ceea ce Led Zeppelin a lăsat ca moştenire in muzica: alăturarea a patru mari artişti, fiecare stăpîn pe meşteşugul sau, text poetic si putînd fi interpretat pe multiple paliere de lectura, o interpretare vibranta axata in special pe impletirea voce (Robert Plant trece prin toate stările… de la delir la melancolie) – chitara solo (riffurile lui Page rămîn exemplare); dar mai ales prin acea ciudata senzaţie ca întreaga componenta a formaţiei se afla într-o căutare a ceva indefinit… căutare care, odată împlinită, ar însemna si desfiinţarea trupei.
Lyrics
There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
There’s a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have
Two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are
Misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder
There’s a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying
For leaving
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those
Who stand looking
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder
And it’s whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will
Echo with laughter
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, ooh, whoa, oh
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
Don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean
For the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There’s still time to change
The road you’re on
And it makes me wonder
Aw, uh, oh
Your head is humming and it won’t go
In case you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
(Solo)
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she’s buying a stairway
To heaven…
